1. Field of the Invention
The present invention involves a system for separating newly hatched chicks from hatching debris.
2. Discussion of Background Information
In order to hatch chicks, eggs are placed in baskets on the eighteenth day of incubation. These baskets are stacked and are placed in a hatchery where the chicks hatch on the twenty-first day of incubation.
After incubation, these baskets contain (a) chicks, (b) transparent eggs (non-fertilized), (c) non-hatched eggs (dead embryos), (d) large pieces of empty shell which comprise approximately three-quarters of a complete shell, (e) average sized pieces, hereinafter called "hats," which comprise approximately one quarter of a complete shell, and (f) a large number of small pieces of shell.
One conventional technique for removing chicks consisted of sorting them manually from among all the debris. However, various systems have been conceived in order to try to automatically separate chicks from the debris.
One of these systems consists of placing the contents of the hatching baskets on a movable separating belt formed of cylindrical rollers. The chicks as well as the "hats" and the small shells pass through the bars of the separating belt, which retain the large shells, the transparent eggs and the non-hatched eggs. A recovery belt is provided beneath the separating belt. The recovery belt is also equipped with bars; however, the spacing of these bars is smaller than those of the separating belt in order to retain the chicks and the "hats," while permitting the smaller shells pass through.
From the recovery belt, the chicks and the "hats" are conveyed towards a ventilation system formed of a lower blower and an upper suction device, whereby the "hats" are sucked away while the chicks are left behind.
The major problem of such the above-described system resides in the fact that the number of transparent eggs increases proportionately with an increasing number of aging laying hens. Moreover, these transparent eggs have an increased fragility, because their shells become increasingly thinner. The breakage of such eggs causes the deposition of egg yolks on the rollers, whereby the rollers become encrusted so that passing of the chicks therethrough is impeded.
In view of the above problems, there has been made an attempt to invert the baskets on a flexible belt. This is also the reason why automatic sorter ovoscopes have been perfected for automatically sorting eggs, while separating transparent eggs as much as possible. However, using an ovoscope technique requires a longer period of time and is more expensive, unless the transparent eggs are put to some good use, such as food for pigs or cows.
In order to overcome these disadvantages, the present inventors envisioned a system that would be capable of minimizing the breakage of transparent eggs, and at the same time, would correctly stack the chicks. In particular, it was desired to obtain a technique wherein the chicks would be forced between rollers, and the rollers would be washed, disinfected and dried, thereby preventing the rollers becoming dirty to ensure the sliding of chicks therethrough.
Up until now, as has been discussed above, one technique consisted of inverting the baskets on a flexible belt, and then conveying the contents towards the rollers. It was also envisioned inverting the baskets in a hopper above the rollers, and then letting the contents of the hopper fall on the rollers. However, in both these techniques there was a lot of breakage.